4 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Always Moving Forward, Never Looking Back, January 10, 2003
This review is from: The Complete Capitol Recordings (Audio CD)
Mr. Ellington always looked forward with his music; he never looked back. His music was his mistress, and he took her in the directions that he saw fit.
As well documented in these CDs, by the early 1950's, Mr. Ellington had completed the redefinition of his sound in "modern" terms, much to the dismay of those who, to this day, always look at his pre-modern past as some mythical "golden" age; in point of fact, for Ellington, this modern transition began in the pivotal 1946-1947 period.
What sounded awesome, for example, in 1940, sounded passe in the 1950's, what sounded awesome in 1956, sounded passe in 1973. Everything has its season; it would nice if the "tree huggers" learned that.
My Ellington collecion, which is on 78's, LP's, and CD's, spans from the very beginning to the very end of Duke's career, and this box set is one of my favorites.
Mr. Ellington never stopped changing and growing, musically. He stayed current: more modern than any of the so-called modernists; modern before the so-called modernists existed. It would be nice if everybody did the same.
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